House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and a majority of the freshman members United States House of Representatives who are visiting Israel on an educational seminar sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), an independent, bipartisan, non-profit,. (photo credit: HADARI PHOTOGRAPHY)
The White House dismissed as “fake news” a report in the Israeli media that the Trump administration was angry with Israel for allowing Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) to visit the Jewish state later this month, US House Majority leader Steny Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, a number of Israeli media outlets had reported that US President Donald Trump was upset with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for granting access to the women who support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and who have been vocal critics of both Trump and Israel. Steny Hoyer holds press conference in Israel
Trump had reportedly told his advisers that if Omar and Tlaib wanted to boycott Israel, “then Israel should boycott them,” according to a source with direct knowledge, Israel’s Channel 13 reported.
According to Israeli media reports, Trump told advisers he believes Israel should enforce its 2017 law requiring the Interior Ministry to block foreign nationals from entering Israel if they have supported boycotting the Jewish state, a sentiment that reached the top level of the Israeli government.
According to the dry law in Israel that has been on the books for some two years, Omar – whose legislation implicitly calls for the boycott of Israel – could be denied entry. This law has only been used sporadically since being legislated.
However, the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, denied this report: “The Israeli government can do what they want,” she said on Saturday. “It’s fake news.”
Hoyer, who was wrapping up an educational trip of freshmen Democratic congress members to Israel, told reporters he felt that such a trip could only have a positive impact.
“I talked with Mr. [Ron] Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the US and he issued a statement after discussing this with the [Israeli] government and the prime minister that any member of Congress was welcome to come to Israel,” Hoyer said.
He added that he believed it was important for members of Congress to gain a better understanding of Israel, by seeing the country first hand for themselves.
“Coming to Israel seeing the reality of Israel, seeing the security situation in Israel, seeing the extraordinary people who are working so hard to create jobs and a better life for their people and so for many people around the world” would lead to a “more positive view of the country,” he said.
“Israel’s confidence as expressed by Mr. Dermer in having any member of Congress who wants to come to Israel have the opportunity to come to Israel and have access and to see what all these members have seen and will see is appropriate,” he added.
House Republican leader Keven McCarthy who is leading a similar trip of freshmen Republican congressmen said he wished Omar and Tlaib had been on the trip that is taking place now and added that their visit could give them a positive view of the country.
“The president knows there are people who have a difference of opinion,” McCarthy said. “I think it is healthy for anyone who has that opinion to come. I feel very secure in this. Anyone who comes with open ears, open eyed and an open mind, will walk away and have an understanding just as all these [Congress] members do, that this bond is unbreakable.”
Omar recently put forth a “pro-boycott” resolution in Congress “affirming that all Americans have the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.”
While the resolution does not mention the acronym BDS, she told the news site Al-Monitor, “We are introducing a resolution… to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our first amendment rights in regard to boycotting… It is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement.”
Omar and Tlaib are scheduled to arrive in Israel on August 18, though the date is still subject to change. Either way, their trip is not expected to overlap with these two much larger delegations.
There are 41 freshmen congresspeople on the Democratic mission and 30 on the Republican trip, both sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit charitable foundation affiliated with AIPAC.
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